"Lieutenants Place and Cameron were the Commanding Officers of two of
His Majesty's Midget Submarines X7 and X6 which on 22nd September 1943
carried out a most daring and successful attack on the German
Battleship Tirpitz, moored in the protected anchorage of Kaafiord, Norway. To reach the anchorage necessitated the penetration of an enemy
minefield and a passage of fifty miles up the fjord, known to be
vigilantly patrolled by the enemy and to be guarded by nets, gun defenses and listening posts, this after a passage of at least a
thousand miles from base. Having successfully eluded all these hazards and entered the fleet
anchorage, Lieutenants Place and Cameron, with a complete disregard for
danger, worked their small craft past the close anti-submarine and
torpedo nets surrounding the Tirpitz and from a position inside these
nets, carried out a cool and determined attack. Whilst they were still inside the nets a fierce enemy counter attack
by guns and depth charges developed which made their withdrawal
impossible. Lieutenants Place and Cameron therefore scuttled their craft
to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy. Before doing so
they took every measure to ensure the safety of their crews, the
majority of whom, together with themselves, were subsequently taken
prisoner. In the course of the operation these very small craft pressed home
their attack to the full, in doing so accepting all the dangers inherent
in such vessels and facing every possible hazard which ingenuity could
devise for the protection in harbor of vitally important Capital Ships. The courage, endurance and utter contempt for danger in the immediate
face of the enemy shown by Lieutenants Place and Cameron during this
determined and successful attack were supreme."
From Lt.s Place and Cameron's Victoria Cross citation, awarded on February 22, 1944.
Two ace submariners giving the Ratzis a fist full of torpedoes!
Brian
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